Disney To Buy Marvel For $4 Billion
The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock. As part of the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters, including The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.
The Marvel universe has been responsible for some of the biggest box office successes of the past several years. The Spider-Man series is currently expanding to two more films and a sequel to Iron Man will hit theaters next May. Meanwhile, the X-Men franchise has successfully a delivered a spin-off installment with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which now has a sequel in the works. No word on what this will mean for future movies based on the various characters.
17 New Images From Pixar’s Up
Disney/Pixar has released 17 new images for their upcoming animated “Up” film.
“Up”, from the Disney Pixar studios, tells the story of 78 year-old Carl Fredricksen who sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America by tying thousands of balloons to his home. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a young wilderness explorer, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.
“Up,” directed by Pete Docter, who also directed the animated hit “Monsters, Inc.” and developed the story and characters for “Toy Story,” will be shown at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony on May 13, 2009.
The animated film is scheduled to appear in theaters on May 29th.
“Hannah Montana: The Movie” Posters
New posters for the upcoming “Hannah Montana: The Movie” movie have been released.
Walt Disney Pictures takes the Disney Channel phenom to the big screen in a feature film extravaganza. Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) struggles to juggle school, friends and her secret pop-star persona; when Hannah Montana’s soaring popularity threatens to take over her life-she just might let it. So her father (Billy Ray Cyrus) takes the teen home to Crowley Corners, Tenn., for a dose of reality, kicking off an adventure filled with the kind of fun, laughter and romance even Hannah Montana couldn’t imagine.
“Hannah Montana: The Movie,” the film adaptation of the smash Disney television series, will be released in the US on April 10, 2009 and May 1 in the United Kingdom.
Hilarious Clip From “Up”
Walt Disney Pictures has debuted the second “Upisode” for Pixar’s film “Up” showing Russell trying to apply a Band-Aid to Carl Fredricksen’s scraped knuckle. This clip are content created purely for promotional purposes and are not scenes from the movie itself.
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. “Up” takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures.
Pixar’s “Up” is directed by Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc) and co-directed and written by Bob Peterson, who wrote “Finding Nemo” previously. The voices are provided by Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Jordan Nagai.
“Up” opens on May 29th 2009.
G-Force Pics Online!
USA Today has unveiled the first five photos from the upcoming 3-D comedy/adventure “G-Force,” starring Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan.
“G-Force” is about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (Cage), the computer and information specialist.
The film is directed by two-time Oscar-winning visual effects master Hoyt Yeatman and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Disney has announced that the first trailer for the film will become available online on December 29th.
“G-Force”film is set to be released July 24, 2009 from Walt Disney Pictures.
“Race To Witch Mountain” Poster
Check out the poster for “Race to Witch Mountain“, the action/adventure directed by Andy Fickman, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexander Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb.
Walt Disney Pictures resurrects one of their time-honored franchises with “Race to Witch Mountain”, a family film that tells the story of two children (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) with psychic abilities whose search for their origins gets them caught up in an adventure with a cab driver (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and a UFO specialist (Carla Gugino).
“Up” Teaser Poster
Walt Disney Pictures has released the teaser poster for their upcoming 3D flick “UP.”
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. “Up” takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures.
Pixar’s “Up” is directed by Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc) and co-directed and written by Bob Peterson, who wrote “Finding Nemo” previously. The voices are provided by Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Jordan Nagai.
The movie opens on May 29th 2009. and the extended trailer will either be attached with “Bolt” in November, or next week’s “High School Musical 3″. Continue Reading…
“HSM3″ New Photos
A new photos for the upcoming “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” has been released.
Amidst a basketball championship, prom and a big spring musical featuring all of the Wildcats, Troy and Gabriella vow to make every moment last as their lifelong college dreams put the future of their relationship in question. A crew of sophomore Wildcats joins in the fun as the film’s incredible new music and exciting dance numbers take maximum advantage of the big screen.
“HSM3″ is the first installment to appear in theaters. It is set to start principal photography on May 3rd in Salt Lake City, Utah and will hit theaters on October 24th.
“High School Musical 3: Senior Year” New Photos
Here are the never-before-seen images from the “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” movie which opens October 24th.
“High School Musical 3: Senior Year” finds high school seniors Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) facing the prospect of separation as they head off to different colleges. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about the future. With incredible new music and exciting dance numbers designed to take maximum advantage of the big screen, this motion picture extravaganza delivers plenty of high-energy entertainment from East High’s talented ensemble.
Jake Gyllenhaal will play ‘The Prince of Persia’
Jake Gyllenhaal (not Orlando Bloom!) has landed the lead role in ‘The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time‘ for director Mike Newell, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer.
Gemma Arterton!? will starring opposite Gyllenhaal who recently nabbed a role in the new James Bond flick, ‘Quantum of Solace‘.
In the film, Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young Prince who teams with an exotic princess named Tamina (Arterton) on a mission to stop “a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world,” so says The Hollywood Reporter.
The film, of course, is based on the popular video game and, if successful, might turn into a brand new explosive franchise for Disney.
